The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a heat conduction apparatus for use with an information handling system, the heat conduction apparatus allowing for the selective use of multiple fluids for cooling.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As the performance and operating frequency requirements of IHSs increase and the size of IHS chassis decrease, there has been a dramatic increase in the heat generation density of the IHS chassis. This may cause IHS performance and reliability issues as many IHS components, such as, for example, processors and memory integrated circuits, have stringent junction temperature requirements that must be met in order to ensure proper component performance and reliability. As such, there is a need to dissipate heat from the heat generating component to reduce the component's case temperature and consequently, its junction temperature. The reduction of a component's case temperature may be challenging however, especially for those components included in IHS chassis located in large data centers that include numerous IHSs. Powerful fans may be used to dissipate heat from the components; however, fans require substantial power, increasing the cost of the IHS operation. In addition, fans can cause acoustical issues for IHS users due to the noise generated by their operation. As such, additional heat conduction apparatuses are needed to decrease the dependency on fans; however, conventional passive devices such as, for example, heat sinks may not provide enough dissipation to adequately reduce the dependency on fans. Additionally, though more sophisticated heat conduction apparatuses may be available, the IHS user may be reluctant to incur the costs of installing these apparatuses when first purchasing the IHS.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for enhanced heat conduction absent the disadvantages found in the prior methods discussed above.